Superman: All 10 Lois Lane actresses ranked from worst to best

6. Phyllis Coates

Appeared in: Adventures of Superman (season 1)

Phyllis Coates was TV’s first ever Lois Lane, which meant she was the one who had to prove why she was such a formidable and beloved character when she was welcomed into the homes of millions of people each week on Adventures of Superman. And formidable really is what she was, because Coates added a layer of grit to the character that wasn’t just unique to her portrayal at the time, but female characters on television. It was a major step forward for the genre, yes, but a major step forward for TV in general.

The first season of the classic show was a lot grittier than its future seasons would be, helped largely by the fact that it was filmed in black and white and allowed to function as a noir thriller (something the show lost when it began filming in color). Lois was an integral part of why that approach worked, as she never wavered in the face of threatening circumstances (of which there were plenty) and was determined to get to the truth by any means necessary – a trait Lois Lane is now renowned for.

Coates was more stern than many of her successors, with her no-nonsense approach benefiting those early chapters of the show incredibly well. It’s just unfortunate that she had already committed to another project by the time the show returned for a second season, because it would have been so interesting to see how she would have tackled some of the later storylines.

Nevertheless, TV’s first Lois set such a high bar that only the first ever Lois Lane could take over from her.